Bruce Schneier is one of the world's foremost authorities on cryptography and internet security. He was one of the folks journalists called upon to explain all of the info that Edward Snowden dropped on the world. He's someone that should be listened to.
Twenty years ago most of us thought that the net was going to liberate us all. Since then, corporations and governments have pretty much turned the net into a vast surveillance system.
Medieval feudalism evolved into a more balanced relationship in which lords had responsibilities as well as rights. Today’s Internet feudalism is both ad-hoc and one-sided. Those in power have a lot of rights, but increasingly few responsibilities or limits. We need to rebalance this relationship. In medieval Europe, the rise of the centralized state and the rule of law provided the stability that feudalism lacked. The Magna Carta first forced responsibilities on governments and put humans on the long road toward government by the people and for the people. In addition to re-reigning in government power, we need similar restrictions on corporate power: a new Magna Carta focused on the institutions that abuse power in the 21st century.
The rest here:
http://en.collaboratory.de/w/Power_in_the_Age_of_the_Feudal_Internet